Light Post
by evilregal1226
Summary: After defeating Zelena, Snow and Regina have been fighting. Constantly and to the point of actual property damage. Emma has no idea what's up with those two and neither of them want to talk. But she intends to find out. Eventual Swanqueen.
1. Chapter 1

"So I lost my temper for a moment, it isn't a big deal…"

"You uprooted a light post, Regina."

"It was leaning anyways. I did the town a favor."

"You do realize that, technically, you are the town. Like you've just created more work for yourself"

"Are you going to arrest me, Sheriff?" the brunette asked with a smirk in place, as if she already knew that the answer would be no.

Emma sighed and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling of the Mayor's office. She was seated opposite Regina, with the desk separating them. She was here to talk about the damage that the woman across the desk had caused that morning during an argument with Snow. She ran her fingers through her hair, finally resting them on her forehead.

"What exactly did my mother do this time that pissed you off so much you just had to tear a light post out of the ground?" Emma inquired, though she wasn't really sure if there was going to be a real answer.

"It doesn't matter what she did. She had no right to speak to me that way in front of my son," Regina replied with clipped tones, effectively closing the discussion whether Emma wanted it closed or not. Emma really didn't care either way; she just knew that they needed to stop fighting.

"Okay, first of all, _our _son," the Sheriff said, "second of all, you have _got _to stop fighting with Snow. For real. This is getting out of hand. It's affecting Henry's life."

"Well maybe we wouldn't have so many problems if she wasn't such an absolute nuisance all the time," Regina countered. She got out of her chair and paced around to the other side of the desk, walking towards the door, "I think it's time for you to be going, Miss Swan."

"Really? You're just kicking me out? We haven't even settled the issue of the property damage."

"It's settled. Goodbye, Sheriff"

Emma sat at her desk in the sheriff's station, wanting nothing more than to go home, but knowing that if she did, Regina would find out and she'd be in trouble for leaving work so early in the day. It's not like there's a ton of criminal behavior going on in town. Ever since they worked out the whole Zelena issue, things had been pretty quiet. Even Snow and Regina had been getting along for a while. At least, they had been. They'd just started absolutely clawing at each other's throats about a week ago. And it didn't seem to be relenting any. They had planned to start having full family dinners so that Henry could have dinner with his whole family. But whatever those two were fighting about had put a lid on that idea for a while.

Trying her best to concentrate on the little bit of paperwork that she did have to do (thanks to Regina and the light post incident), she put the thoughts of her mother and former nemesis out of her mind for the time being. But she knew that she had to at least find out what they were fighting over.

Snow was sitting in her and Charming's living room, working on a family scrapbook with little baby Neal sleeping in his rocker nearby. Mary Margret had enjoyed making scrapbooks and she had to admit, the activity was calming. And she liked being able to have pictures of all her loved ones in a little book. It wasn't a luxury that they'd had back home. She had just finished a page with pictures of Emma holding a sleeping baby Neal when the doorbell rang.

Pushing herself up off the floor and glancing over at her son to make sure he was still asleep, she padded over to the front door of her apartment.

"Hey, mom," Emma greeted when she opened the door, "Can I come in? This isn't a bad time or anything, is it?"

"No, no, of course not dear. You're always welcome. You know that," Snow said while she walked back into the living room. She picked Neal up out of his rocker and cradled him in her arms. Then she lead them into the kitchen, where she handed the baby to his sister.

Emma sat down at one of the barstools while Snow looked around the kitchen for glasses and something to drink. Emma hadn't really liked Neal very much at first, but he was growing on her. It was difficult to actually hate a baby. She refused to call him Neal, though, even in her head. It was always just "the baby" or "kid". Emma had noticed that Regina had taken up a similar practice, referring to the baby as "Charming Junior". Nonetheless, Emma rocked her little brother for a minute while Snow poured lemonade into the glasses.

"So, is this just a social visit or is there something on your mind?" Snow asked, having always been a little more in tune with the blonde than Emma would ever admit.

"Well, there's sort of a problem, I suppose. Here's the thing… could you maybe let me in on the little secret of why you and Regina are back to attacking each other in the streets?" Emma fumbled her way into actually asking the question that she wanted the answer to. Her mother visibly stiffened at it. Then she relaxed a little and sighed. Taking the baby away, as if he could provide her with some protection, she answered.

"Look, Emma, I don't really think that's for me to tell you. I said something to Regina and she was furious. Ask her about it if you really want to know."

"That's the thing. I did ask her. She kicked me out of her office. It's not like this is just some little personal problem between you two. She literally destroyed a light post. Do you know how much paperwork there is to replace a light post? A fucking lot, that's how much."

Snow just sighed again and busied herself on the other side of the kitchen. Emma wasn't satisfied with her answer to the question, as she knew she wasn't likely to get any real answers from Regina. But it was a good thing she had a backup plan.

"Fine. Whatever. Don't actually answer any of my questions. Are you and Dad still coming over for dinner tonight?" Emma asked her mother, trying to act casual about the whole thing.

"Of course we are, sweetheart. We'll be there at 6," Snow replied, seeming to calm down a bit at the change of subject. She sat down beside Emma and they talked about things unrelated to Regina for the rest of her visit.

Dinner was the backup plan. The minute she left Snow's place, she texted Regina.

**_Dinner tonight at 6 with the kid, my place- Emma_**

She hadn't even had to wait five minutes before she got a reply.

**_As eloquent as ever, Miss Swan. Fine. I will be there, please don't set your apartment on fire trying to cook.- Regina_**

Emma choose to ignore the jab, knowing full well that Regina didn't actually mean it and was actually aware of her ability to cook at least minor meals. Besides, at this point it was far more likely that Regina would set her apartment on fire once she found out that Snow would be there.

David and Snow arrived with Neal first. Emma led them into her new apartment that she part-time shared with Henry. When he wasn't at his mom's place, that was. They'd settled into something of a system, with Henry mostly dictating where he wanted to stay each day. He was pretty consistent so far, a couple days with Emma and then back to Regina. Then a couple days with Regina before going back to Emma's. It probably wouldn't work out so well once school started back for him, but for now it was working okay.

They were all milling about in the living room, Henry animatedly explaining how he'd hung out with Hansel that day. Emma had put a chicken casserole in the oven a little while earlier and it wouldn't be done for another ten or so minutes. Snow had brought a small pound cake that she'd made that morning. It was looking like it was going to be a nice, peaceful family dinner. And then the doorbell rang.

"Did you invite someone else, Emma?" Snow asked with a confused expression on her face.

"Uh yeah. Just keep in mind, I want you guys to get along, okay?" Emma begged as she walked down the short hallway to her front door. They heard the door open, Emma say a few words, and then the door close again. It seemed that Emma had stepped outside to talk to whoever the new dinner guest was.

"Henry, do you know who she invited?" David asked his grandson.

"Nope, no clue. She's not dating anyone or anything that I know of. Unless you guys know something different," Henry said, leveling them with a suspicious look that reminded Snow an awful lot of Regina.

Regina.

"Oh no. This is going to be terribly awkward," Snow said, the boys in the room thoroughly confused, "Regina. Henry, she invited your mother."


	2. Chapter 2

Emma opened the door for Regina but before the woman had a chance to actually step inside, she lightly pushed her backwards and closed the door behind both of them.

"Miss Swan! What makes you think you have the right to lay your hands on me?" Regina nearly shrieked after being pushed back out the door.

"Calm down, Gina, I just needed a minute," Emma assured her, "Look, I really don't want this to be a problem cuz Henry's been looking forwards to dinner with you all day. He was ecstatic when I told him you were coming…"

"Please get on with whatever the point of this is, dear."

"I forgot that I invited my parents over for dinner tonight," Emma nearly whispered, looking anywhere but at Regina. Even without looking at her, though, Emma could tell she was immediately planning to leave, "You should still stay though. You know. For Henry and all."

Regina had started to walk away from the door, but Emma's hurried explanation of why she should stay made her pause for a minute. She hadn't actually seen Henry since he left her house three days ago. But he would probably be coming home soon, anyway. Unless she upset him by not coming to dinner tonight, then who knows how long it would be until she saw him again. She sighed, mentally cursing Snow White, and turned back towards Emma.

"I will _not _be speaking to that woman. Don't expect me to."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Emma sarcastically replied, opening the door back up for Regina to walk inside.

Greetings were tense. But so far, no punches had been thrown and all of her furniture was still intact. They were all seated around Emma's kitchen table, with baby Neal in a baby carrier on the counter. Snow and Regina somehow managed to get themselves seated directly across from each other. Food had been served, however, so the focus was not yet on conversation.

Henry, probably sensing some of the tension in the room, started blabbering away to no one in particular about how David had promised to teach him how to sword fight. David practically beamed at how excited he was.

Snow, Regina, and Emma all nodded, paying attention but not wanting to start anything with anyone by speaking. Snow broke their silence first.

"Are you interested in learning how to ride horses, Henry? I could teach you, if you wanted," Snow interjected when Henry paused. Even Emma, without knowing what Regina and Snow were fighting over, knew that that was the wrong thing to say.

"I am perfectly capable of teaching _my son_ how to ride a horse, Snow," Regina hastily replied, "Your help really isn't necessary. Actually, it's hardly ever necessary."

"Maybe if _some people _would just admit that they might actually need my help with some things, their lives would be easier," Snow remarked.

David and Henry both quickly removed themselves from this, with Henry offering to clear the table and David walking over to the counter to occupy himself with Neal.

"I do not, nor will I ever, need your help with that, Snow. I have the entire situation well under my control," Regina practically growled at her from across the table. Emma was fairly certain they had moved on from talking about horses.

"Everyone needs help every once in a while, Regina," Snow said, standing up and going over to David and Neal. Regina just stayed where she was and fumed for a minute. Then she got up and walked out to Emma's miniscule second floor balcony. Emma followed her out.

"What the hell was that about?" Emma asked.

"Your mother, thinking she knows what's best for everyone around her."

"Wow, thanks for clearing that up. Never would have figured it out without your help," Emma walked over to the edge and leaned up against the railing so that she was facing the apartment. Looking inside, she could see Henry playing with Neal on the living room rug. David and Snow were sitting on the couch watching them.

"I think I should get going, then."

"You don't have to leave every time I ask you why you and Snow are fighting. We can just talk about something else if it really bothers you that much," Emma replied. This whole thing was stupid. They were probably fighting over Henry's new haircut or some bullshit like that.

"No, really, it's getting late," Regina insisted.

"Fine, tell Henry to pack his things, he's going with you tonight."

Regina walked back inside and Emma could hear her talking to Henry, who could then be heard running to his room to pack. She turned around and looked over into her downstairs neighbor's backyard.

_"__I bet he doesn't have issue like this in his family"_ she thought. But then again, everyone who lived here was a fairy tale character, so there was really no telling.

Henry had said his goodbyes to Emma and his grandparents and was now sitting in the Mills kitchen, watching his mom bake bread. It was well past ten o'clock and not normally a time when someone would start baking. Henry knew she had to have something on her mind. He was also pretty sure it had something to do with whatever her and Snow were fighting about. He'd heard them arguing the first time about a week ago, but he hadn't caught what they were talking about.

"Can I ask you something?" Henry said, while Regina was putting the bread in the oven.

"Of course you can, dear," Regina replied, a little confused as to why he didn't just ask like he normally did.

"Are you and Snow ever going to make up? Because this is really making life less fun," Henry said. He picked at the bottom seam of his shirt while he talked. Regina wanted to tell him to stop, but she knew he'd just get mad at her for changing the subject.

"I don't know, Henry. It's complicated."

"How so? Why are you even so mad at her? Like, she's not mad at you. Don't try to pull that on me. It's mostly you," Henry said, completely sure of himself.

"She just… implied… that… Look, Henry, it doesn't really matter, okay? It will eventually work itself out," Regina couldn't lie to Henry, but she also couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth. He'd just side with Snow on the matter. Besides, it wasn't even completely true, what Snow had said.

"Whatever. I'm going to bed, then. Night, love you," Henry, having not gotten the answer he wanted, bounded up the stairs to his room.

Regina poured herself a glass of wine and sat down at the kitchen counter. She still had a while to wait on the bread before she herself could go to bed. So that just left her alone with her thoughts.

_"__Snow White is an absolute menace. Turning my own son against me,"_ she thought, "_Henry isn't really against you. You know that. He just wants to know what's going on." _

Snow White had been butting into her life since they met. And Regina wasn't going to continue to let it happen. Which is why she had dropped all pretense of actually trying to resolve the issue they had originally been fighting about. It really wasn't helping her to be so stubborn. It was just making her stressed.

Henry casually walked into the diner the next day, fully aware that Snow would be there. He waved to his grandmother from across the diner and then walked over to sit down.

"Hey, Snow!" Henry chimed.

"Hi, Henry. How are you today?" Snow asked.

"Good, good. I have something I need to talk to you about. I'm calling it Operation Light Post. Due to… you know. Anyway, are you interested in being helpful or should I ask someone else?" Henry quickly explained.

"You just want to know why your mother and I are fighting," Snow caught on pretty rapidly, "I'm not completely sure it's my place to tell you. Regina would kill me."

"Come on, please? For me? I won't tell anyone. I just want to know," Henry begged. Ruby came over to take their orders and the subject was dropped for a couple minutes. Snow managed to steer him towards safer topics of conversation while they waited for their lunch. By the time their food had arrived, however, Henry had set his eyes back on his original purpose for this meeting. In between bites of his cheeseburger, he tried to guess the reason for the fighting.

"Did she use magic for something bad?"

"No, she's not a bad person anymore, Henry. You know that."

"Did you try to give her parenting tips?"

"Yes, but that's not what this is mainly about."

"Am I just going to have to play twenty questions until I figure it out or could you just tell me?"

"Henry, I've got to take Neal to a doctor's appointment, so this is just going to have to wait," Snow said, moving to get out of the booth. Henry was quicker than she was, though. He jumped up and slid into the booth beside her so that she couldn't get out.

"You're not leaving until you tell me what's going on," Henry challenged. Snow looked at the time on her cell phone, she only had about ten minutes before she had to have Neal at the doctor. She sighed. There was really no way that the situation between her and Regina was going to get any worse. Telling Henry might actually make it better if it meant that Regina might actually have to face her problem.

"Fine, I asked Regina how long she'd been in love with Emma and when she planned on telling her."


	3. Chapter 3

Henry stayed at the diner after Snow left, thinking over what she had said while sucking down a chocolate milkshake. Operation Light Post now needed a new objective, of that he was sure. But he wasn't sure what it was yet.

"Hey kid, any particular reason you're sitting by yourself?" Ruby had walked over without him noticing.

"Um, not really. Snow just had to leave and I've got nowhere else to be. But if you want me to leave, I'll go," he said. He knew that lunch was a busy time for the diner, but the majority of the rush seemed to be over.

"Nah, you're good. Mind if I sit?" Ruby asked, sitting before he could answer that he didn't mind.

Ruby picked at what was left of Henry's fries while Henry continued to ponder over whether or not his mom could be in love with Emma. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"So, what's got you so quiet today? Did I happen to hear something about a new operation earlier?" Ruby asked. Henry thought it over for a second. If anyone knew anything about this, it might be Ruby. So he decided he'd found his new partner in crime.

"Yeah, actually. I'm calling it Operation Light Post and I need information," Henry leaned forward and whispered. His new co-conspirator whispered back.

"Information on what, exactly? I've got lots of it, but you're gonna need to narrow that down a bit."

"I've heard a bit of a rumor about my mom and I need some verification," Henry informed her.

"Oh your mom's a tough one. She's a pretty closed door when it comes to personal information, but I'll tell you whatever I do know. That is, if I deem it appropriate for your ears," she replied.

"What do you know about the possibility of my mom being in love with Emma?" Henry asked.

Ruby couldn't contain her laughter. She fell back against the bench and gave up all pretense of whispering.

"That's what this is about? Gods, Henry, I thought you were the master observer," she laughed, "Everyone with two eyes knows about that. It's not even a little bit of a secret. Regina and Emma can pretend it is all they want. But they're both head over heels."

"Wait, Emma's in love with Mom?" Henry asked. Ruby nodded, not sure how Henry had missed that little bit of information, "Well, I think Operation Light Post just took got a new objective."

Emma walked into town hall for her weekly meeting with Regina. Usually this meant that they would spend a half hour talking about whatever work Emma wasn't doing correctly and then they might talk about Henry for a little while. But today, Emma had different plans. She needed to get Regina to open up to her a little so that she could figure out a way to end whatever feud Regina and her mother had going.

Regina's secretary let her in, but Regina wasn't in her office at the moment, so she had to wait a few minutes. This gave her a little time to better formulate her plan. So far, it had like one, maybe two actual points to it. Which didn't really give her much to work with. She sat down on the uncomfortable couch in the office and put her feet up on the coffee table.

"Miss Swan, how many times do I have to ask you not to put your feet up on my furniture," Regina inquired as she walked into her office. Emma removed her feet from the coffee table and awkwardly crossed her legs. Regina sat down in the loveseat beside the couch. She pulled the misfiled paperwork out of her bag and began going over all of the recent mistakes of the sheriff's department.

Emma found that she could really only handle about twenty minutes of this before she decided to put her plan into action.

"If you actually filed some of this-"

"Do you want to go get lunch? I'm starving. I haven't eaten all day," Emma said, cutting her off. Regina usually didn't take kindly to interruptions, but at least she didn't look like she was going to murder Emma for this one.

"I suppose that would be fine. You're my last meeting for today," Regina agreed.

The two women decided to meet back at Regina's manor for lunch in ten minutes.

The drive to Regina's house was fraught with emotions for Emma. She was nervous. Which didn't make any sense to her.

_"__Calm your shit, Swan. Jesus, it's just Regina. You've had lunch with Regina like ten thousand times,"_ Emma chastised herself, trying to calm her heart rate a little and even out her breathing. This felt different. They weren't going to be out in public, they'd be at Regina's house. Which meant that Regina might not spend the entire lunch trying to convince everyone around them that they weren't friends.

Regina was having similar thoughts at her house. This was going to be different. Inviting Emma into her home without Henry to act as a buffer was certainly not something they'd done before.

She busied herself getting leftovers out of the fridge and figuring out how best to heat them.

Emma knocked on the door a couple minutes later and then walked in without waiting on Regina to let her in. She found Regina in the kitchen putting pasta on plates. Emma, who knew far too much about where the other women stored things in her kitchen, got out cups and poured them both something to drink.

They sat at the kitchen counter in slightly uncomfortable silence while they ate. Emma occasionally tried to talk about Henry or work, but Regina didn't seem too susceptible to the idea of starting a real conversation.

"So. This is pretty good for leftovers. The kid's lucky to get this sort of food whenever he wants," Emma tried.

"Well, he doesn't seem to concerned with that or he'd spend more time eating here instead of going out to eat with his various family members in this town," Regina said, "Ruby called and said he ate lunch with your mother today."

"Oh. Well, I mean… that's good. Right? Like at least we know he's not out shoplifting or whatever," Emma reasoned, knowing that Regina didn't like not knowing what Henry was up to during the day.

"I'd rather he didn't feel he needed to sneak around behind my back just to spend time with Snow," Regina replied. She might not be getting along with Snow, but she knew Henry liked her and she wouldn't deprive him of the ability to see her.

"He's just a stupid kid sometimes, Regina. He likes feeling like he has some independence and doesn't need to tell you everything he does."

"I know. It doesn't make me feel better about not knowing where he is without receiving a phone call from Ruby," Regina said, "She claimed he's got a new little operation, which concerns me a little. He likes to stick his nose in places that could get him in trouble."

"Oh god, what's this one about?"

"She didn't say, but I can guess."

"I'm assuming he wants to know why you're fighting with Snow, just like I do. Maybe I'll join this little operation of his," Emma grinned. Their son was too much sometimes. He had his heart in the right place, but sometimes he went about things the wrong way.

"If I find out you're snooping through my life, Miss Swan, I will personally make sure you have a very unpleasant month," Regina countered. She didn't like the idea that Henry was looking into this. She didn't need him finding out about Snow's ridiculous accusation. It didn't particularly matter to her that Snow was at least partially correct, she didn't need Snow or Henry butting into her personal life.


	4. Chapter 4

Henry stopped dead in his tracks when he turned into his driveway. Emma's yellow bug was parked in the driveway. Which was weird considering the only reason she ever really came over was to see him.

He made his way up the steps and crept through the front door, which was thankfully unlocked. He wanted to know what was up without alerting his mothers to his presence. He heard them talking in the kitchen.

"No, it doesn't really work that way, Emma," Regina laughed. Henry smiled, he liked that they were getting along, finally.

"No, no, look. If you just cooked it at a higher temperature, then I'm almost positive it would take less time to cook," Emma argued, also laughing. Henry stepped into the kitchen, where Emma and his mother were working on dinner.

"Hey, Emma. What are you doing here?" Henry asked.

"Hey, kid. We didn't hear you come in. Your mom invited me over for dinner. She promised me lasagna today when we had lunch," Emma said. Henry didn't miss the fact that they'd had lunch together that day, too. This was more one-on-one interaction than the two women had had for as long as Henry could remember. And he'd thought Operation Light Post would be difficult.

Emma had to admit, it had taken some time to get Regina talking earlier during lunch, but once Emma had started talking about food, it had stopped being an issue. Regina laughed when Emma said that she could cook and then invited her over for a real meal that night.

At the time, Emma had thought coming over for dinner would be an excellent idea. However, once Henry showed up, Regina was just as closed as she had ever been.

The only things that could be heard in the dining room of the manor were the various sounds of eating. Occasionally Henry would offer up some sort of comment and Regina would offer him an obligatory response, but it was nothing like dinner between the three of them usually was. It was tense, like everyone knew that there was something going unsaid.

"Is there any chance of ice cream," Henry asked eagerly. He'd hoped Ruby hadn't told his mother about the milkshake he'd already had earlier at lunch.

"I guess that would be alright," Regina agreed. Henry was up and clearing plates off the table almost immediately.

"I don't think I've ever seen him move that quickly for anything other than desserts," Emma observed as Henry moved into the kitchen.

The phone rang in the hallway. They could hear Henry pick it up and talk to whoever was on the other end. He seemed pretty excited.

"Hold on, let me ask my mom," he told the person on the phone. He looked around the corner of the dining room door, "Do you think it'd be okay if I spent the night at Hansel's house? They're just coming back from the diner and he said his dad could pick me up in like ten minute if I wanted to."

"That's up to your mom, kid," Emma said as Henry expectantly looked towards his more lenient mother.

"I suppose that would be acceptable if your room is clean," Regina hesitantly agreed.

"Awesome! Thanks, Mom," Henry said, beaming. He quickly confirmed with Hansel and then raced upstairs to pack a bag for the night.

"I should probably get going, then," Emma said, looking at her watch. It was only eight o'clock, hardly late enough to claim that she needed to be home soon. Besides, it was Friday and she was a grown woman, there wasn't really a reason for her to leave just because Henry was leaving. She'd probably just go straight home and watch Netflix for the rest of the night.

Regina knew Emma didn't really have a reason for leaving besides not wanting to impose. She also didn't want Emma to think that she was only welcome in the house if Henry was around.

"You don't really have to leave, Miss Swan. You could stay for a drink, if you'd like," Regina said, getting up to go to the kitchen.

"Um, yeah. I guess I could do that. I've really got nothing else to do," Emma said.

Emma followed Regina into the kitchen, where the brunette had putting dishes in the dishwasher. She stood sort of awkwardly off to the side and just watched for a minute. The doorbell rang and Henry popped into the kitchen to say his goodbyes.

"Don't stay up too late," Regina reminded him as he was walking out the door.

"Yeah, Mom, I know," Henry replied. With that, it was just Emma and Regina again.

Regina got out a bottle of wine and poured them both a glass. She gave Emma the bottle to carry. Then she led them into the living room. She handed Emma one of the glasses and sat down on the couch. Emma sat down on the couch as well, but tried to keep a bit of distance between them. After sitting the bottle down on the coffee table, she quickly drank all the wine that had been poured for her. Regina gave her a slightly questioning look.

"Are you just trying to get drunk tonight, Miss Swan? I can get you something stronger if that's your goal," Regina said, smirking.

"You're hilarious, a downright comic. I'm fine with the wine," Emma replied. She made it a point to sit the glass on the coffee table and not pour any more. Regina just pulled her legs up onto the couch and took a sip out of her glass, "Besides, I really shouldn't be drinking at all. Considering I'm pretty much always on call now that David's taking so much time off to help Snow out all the time."

"Maybe you should consider hiring more help, it's in your budget," Regina said, "I'm sure it wouldn't be a difficult position to fill."

"It's not like there's a ton of work to do or anything. It's just that the work that does need to be done always seems to happen at really weird hours," Emma explained. Hiring someone else probably wouldn't help very much. It would really probably just make her job harder since she would have to train whoever she hired, "Anyway, I was leaving the spot open in case Robin wanted it after he got all settled and everything. He had expressed some interest."

"He seems to be settling rather well. Although, I don't think he's really used to having someone else's opinions matter when it comes to Roland. Apparently he and Marian have very different parenting styles," Regina said. She'd talked to Robin quite a bit about it and he seemed frustrated with the situation.

"Eh, he'll get used to it eventually," Emma figured, "You certainly seem to have adjusted to co-parenting rather well."

"I think I could have adjusted better if my co-parent had been a little less abrasive," Regina said teasingly.

"Oh, I'm the abrasive one? Regina, you showed up at my door with a basket of apples to threaten me into leaving and then had your magic mirror do a full background check. I think the pot is calling the kettle black," Emma said, laughing, "Not that it really matters now, I suppose. I think we're doing a pretty solid job with the kid. But that's probably only because you did a solid job by yourself for the first ten years."

"Thank you, but no matter how many times I've said otherwise, you're not a bad mother yourself, Miss Swan," Regina said.

"Was that a compliment? Did you just compliment me?" Emma teased, "Just wait until I tell everyone, there'll be a rumor that you're losing your mind by the end of the week."

"I'm not exclusively a terrible person. I've given compliments in the past, maybe this is the first time you've done anything deserving of one," Regina teased back. Emma was beginning to notice that they got dangerously close to flirting anytime they were alone together for more than fifteen minutes. She wasn't sure what the intent behind any of it was, but she certainly wasn't going to be the one to stop it from happening.

"Whatever you say, Regina. I know for a fact, however, that you've held back on complimenting my wardrobe. Admit it, you're secretly a huge fan of skinny jeans," Emma said.

"I have no idea what has led you to that conclusion."

"Do you mean besides the fact that you stare at my ass every time you think I'm not paying attention? Because that's about all I've got as far as evidence goes, but I think it's pretty damning," Emma laughed, "But go ahead, deny it all you want."

"I do not stare at you, Miss Swan," Regina replied. In all honestly, she'd caught herself staring at Emma a few times, but it was never on purpose. She hadn't realized that Emma had noticed.

"Alright, alright. I'll take your word for it," Emma said, getting up, "I should really be heading home."

Regina walked Emma to the front door and held it open for her. Emma turned back towards Regina before walking out the door.

"This was nice, you know? Dinner and all that. We should do it more often," she said. She didn't really give Regina a chance to respond before stepping forward and awkwardly hugging the other woman. Regina stiffened for a moment before hugging her back.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Regina."

"Goodnight, Emma."


	5. Chapter 5

Emma sat at her desk in her office, leaned back, feet propped up on the desk. In all honestly, she was very nearly asleep. After she'd gotten back from Regina's the night before, someone from the Rabbit Hole had called the sheriff's department to request that she come pick up some drunk kids causing trouble. Of course, the main troublemaker had run. It'd taken her almost half an hour to find him passed out in the bushes about a quarter mile from the bar. He was currently recovering in the cell across the office.

_"__At least he's getting some rest,"_ Emma thought, though she really shouldn't be jealous of a boy facing several weeks of community service. She was exhausted, though, "_Maybe I can get away with going home early…"_

Her thoughts of ditching work were cut short by the sound of high heels on the linoleum floor in the hallway. She quickly pulled her feet off the desk and pretended to be focusing on a file that had been on top of her work pile.

"I need to ask a favor, Sheriff," Regina said as she walked into the office.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you need," Emma agreed rather rapidly.

"You don't even know what I want from you, yet."

"Does it really matter? I'd probably end up doing it, regardless of what it is."

"I need you to speak at the town meeting tomorrow. There's been quite a lot of liter around town and I think people may have forgotten that it is, in fact, against the law," Regina said, sitting down in the chair in front of the Sheriff's desk.

"Liter? Really, Regina, I've got real work to do," Emma complained.

"Yes, it does appear that you do. I see you're trying to teach yourself to read upside down. Is that a skill that is entirely necessary in your line of work?" Regina asked, smirking at having caught the Sheriff's lie. Emma looked down at the file that she had opened on her desk, realizing that it was turned away from her. She quickly flipped it around.

"Fine, maybe it's a slow day," Emma conceded, "I'll talk at the stupid meeting. But don't expect much."

"I've learned to lower my expectations about the amount of work you do, Miss Swan."

The meeting was endless. Emma hadn't planned on going to it before Regina had asked her to speak. They were always the same. Someone talked about funding for schools. Someone talked about fixing the roads. It seemed like everyone had a problem in Storybrook and they wanted it addressed immediately. Regina had scheduled her as the last speaker, probably to make sure she stayed for the entire meeting instead of just ditching after she was done. She wasn't particularly paying attention, instead opting to check Facebook on her phone.

"I believe our Sheriff has something she'd like to speak about," Regina said, introducing her to the audience. Emma glanced up from her phone when she heard Regina mention the Sheriff. The mayor looked slightly annoyed that Emma hadn't been listening to whoever had been talking. Emma reluctantly got up, putting her phone back in her pocket, and trudged over to the podium.

"Yeah. Thanks, Madame Mayor," Emma muttered, nowhere near loud enough for anyone but Regina to hear her as she walked by, "Okay, well apparently we've got a littering problem."

Regina's very pointed glare from Emma's former seat told her that she wasn't being nearly as serious about this matter as she should be.

"Right. Right. Okay, so there are trashcans all over the place. Like really, guys, we don't live in the forest, it's not difficult to find somewhere to put your gum wrappers. Just stop being so trivial about this cuz no one wants to live in a place with all your trash just laying around," Emma said, quickly making her escape from the front of the room. Regina got back up to dismiss everyone, she seemed at least mildly pleased with the Sheriff's concise argument.

On her way back to her seat, Regina grabbed her arm to get her attention before taking her place back at the podium.

"Don't leave just yet, Miss Swan, I've got something to discuss with you."

Everyone was milling around after the meeting. It was still fairly early in the afternoon and people wanted to catch up with their neighbors before heading home. Snow very quickly shook off the townspeople so that she could catch up with her daughter before she left.

She found Emma standing near the stage, talking to Regina. They were using fairly hushed tones and Snow had a difficult time catching what they were actually talking about, but Regina seemed slightly anxious. When Snow moved closer, Regina quickly wrapped up whatever she'd been talking about.

"I'm just concerned about it. If you hear him talking about it again, please try to discourage it," Regina said, turning to walk away, but not before throwing a disdainful scowl at Snow.

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do," Emma said as she left.

"What was that about?" Snow asked Emma, watching Regina leave the room without talking to anyone else.

"She's just kinda worried about Henry. Apparently he's got some new operation thing going on and she doesn't like him sticking his nose in other people's business. Specifically, her business."

"Does she have something to hide?" Snow asked, putting together the pieces in her mind. Clearly this new operation of Henry's had something to do with what she had told him in the diner the other day. She hoped Regina hadn't found out that she had told Henry about their argument.

"Yeah, she does. And apparently so do you," Emma said, reminding her that she hadn't forgotten about Regina and Snow's secret argument. Snow sighed, realizing that her daughter wasn't going to drop the accusations anytime soon.

"I've told you several times already, it's just not my place," Snow said.

"I think you've made it your place," Emma argued. She was so completely sick of this. She pushed passed her mother and walked out of the meeting room. She made her way to the other side of town hall, where Regina would no doubt be in her office, putting away her things from the meeting. And Emma wouldn't be letting her leave without finding out what this troublesome secret was. She was absolutely determined.


	6. Chapter 6

In hindsight, she hadn't actually thought her plan through. Standing outside the mayor's office, she realized all the flaws in her plan and all the ways that it could go badly. Regina could easily leave if she didn't want to talk to Emma, she did have magic after all. And Regina didn't really like to be accused of things, so just barging into her office and demanding that she tell Emma what was going on was not likely to work out well in Emma's favor. However, at this point, Emma wasn't particularly sure she cared.

The door to Regina's office was already cracked open, so Emma just walked in. Regina was standing behind her desk, looking through a filing cabinet. She turned around when she heard someone come in.

"Miss Swan? Can I help you with something?" Regina asked, unsure of why Emma had decided to come find her. Emma, attempting to keep the upper hand in this conversation, walked over to Regina's desk and sat down in her chair.

"Yeah, there's a chance you could definitely help me with something," Emma said. Regina closed the drawer she had been going through and crossed her arms. Disdainfully, she leaned up against the side of her desk, partially sitting on it. She questioningly raised her eyebrow at the woman sitting in _her _chair.

"Do get on with it, Miss Swan. I really haven't got all night to play games with you," Regina said.

"Really? Because that seems to be your specialty," Emma replied, "You're so damn stubborn. In any normal circumstance, I wouldn't give a single fuck about whether or not you get along with my mother-"

"Then why do you care now? It's really none of your business, as you say."

"Because, whether you like it or not, we're pretty much family now. And you and Snow are pretty much family, too. So all I'm really asking you to do is get your shit together and try to be a little more civil towards each other. And before you go off on me about how this isn't your fault, I've told Snow to knock it off, too."

"All you want is for everyone to get along, is that it, Miss Swan? You just want us to all pretend that everything is fine so that we can have picturesque little family dinners and holidays?" Emma could feel Regina getting increasingly angry. She wasn't quite sure which part of what she said had set her off.

"Well maybe if you told me what exactly the problem was, we could do something about it and then everything actually _would be_ _fine," _Emma said, almost yelling. She pushed herself up out of Regina's chair so that she could be level with the other woman. It was a dangerous game she was playing, forcing herself into Regina's space. They were only about a foot apart, glaring at each other.

"It's none of your concern. Get out of my office," Regina practically growled.

Emma pushed forward a bit more, leaning into Regina with her hands resting on the desk on either side of the other woman.

"I have tried absolutely everything to just get you to trust me," Emma said, trying to calm both herself and Regina down, "If you would just let someone help you for once-"

"What is it with your family and their incessant need to help people who clearly do not need or want your help?"

"Because we care about you, Regina," Emma replied, "I care about you. And not just because you're Henry's mother. I genuinely want you to be happy."

"You want me to be happy? Then do us both a favor and get away from me," Regina muttered, looking at the ground instead of at Emma. Emma could see tears welling up in her eyes, she wasn't sure she'd ever seen Regina cry before. She also hadn't realized how upset Regina was and she wished she would just tell her why.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Emma quietly said back. She cupped Regina's chin with her hand and ran her thumb over her cheek to catch a tear, "Come on, just tell me what's going on."

Regina looked up at Emma, considering whether or not to tell her the truth. Hating herself for her own weakness, she decided against it. With a puff of purple smoke, Regina was gone. Emma was left alone in the office, wondering what the hell had just happened. She knew Regina would never admit that any of this conversation had occurred if she let her stew in it for very long.

Regina locked her front door and leaned her forehead up against it. This was too much. Emma was too much. She felt hot tears run down her face.

"Mom?" Henry said hesitantly from the top of the stairs. Regina wiped her face on her sleeve and was more than thankful that the lights were still off in the entryway. She turned to put her purse on the table, attempting to look busy so that she wouldn't have to look at her son.

"Yes, dear?"

"Are you alright? Emma called, she say she's worried about you," Henry said, slowly making his way down the stairs.

"I'm fine, Henry. Just tired. You've had dinner, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he said; now standing at the bottom of the stairs. He swayed back and forth, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "I'm gonna go to bed, then. I'll be upstairs if you wanna talk or whatever…"

"Thank you, Henry," Regina said, a bit surprised by his offer, "Goodnight, dear."

"Night, Mom… love you"

"I love you, too," Regina replied. Henry slowly climbed back up the stairs, looking back down at his mom once more before he went to sleep. She looked absolutely defeated. He'd never seen her look so unlike herself. The success of Operation Light Post was even more important than he'd thought. Clearly his mom wasn't going to be able to work this out on her own.

"You're awfully quiet today," Emma said, trying to scrape the last little bit of potatoes off her plate.

"Am I?" Henry responded. They were sitting in the diner, having lunch. Henry had just come back from Regina's that morning to stay with Emma for a while. He'd wanted to stay with his mom since she was clearly having a pretty terrible week, but Regina had insisted that they stick to their loose schedule.

"Yeah, everything alright?"

Henry looked around the diner before he spoke. They were basically the only ones there, with the exception of a couple dwarves at the counter.

"Can I ask you something?" Henry whispered, leaning forward on his arms. He was almost halfway on top of the table, with his legs folded up underneath him, trying to lessen the distance between him and Emma.

"You can ask, no promises about getting an answer, though," Emma said.

"What did you do? Why was Mom so sad last night?"

"What makes you think I did anything?" Emma asked defensively. She leaned back in the booth and folded her arms.

"Because I'm not dumb. She wouldn't be that upset if it was something someone else did," Henry said. Emma sighed, recognizing the look on Henry's face. It was his 'don't-lie-to-me' face. He looked exactly like Regina when he did that.

"I'm not sure what I did, kid. She just… I don't know. I'll talk to her later, though. Don't worry about it too much," Emma told him. Henry didn't fully believe her. She was leaving something out. He had a pretty decent idea of what it was.

"You asked her about her fight with Snow," Henry said. Emma had to admit that she was impressed with his annoying perceptiveness.

"Fine, yeah. I asked her about it. Is that really super relevant? I still don't even know what they're fighting about," Emma confirmed.

"Oh my god. Ma, I thought you were, like, a human lie detector or something," Henry said, a bit irritated with the complete incompetence of both of his mothers.

"What? I've never claimed to be mind reader, this situation is not a good example of my superpower," Emma said, "I'm assuming you're trying to tell me that you know what they're fighting about."

"I do," Henry said.

_"__I could just tell her,"_ Henry thought, "_It would make this whole Operation go a little smoother. Eventually, someone's got to tell her. Might as well be me…"_

"Well?" Emma asked. She could practically see the gears turning in her son's head. She hoped he made the decision to tell her so that she could finally get some answers about this situation. Henry sighed.

"You. They're fighting about you. Cuz Mom's in love with you, but won't tell you and Snow-"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Emma whisper-yelled at Henry, looking around to see if anyone else was listening, "Your mom isn't… She's not-"

"Yeah she is. But she doesn't want to admit it. But Snow knows and that's what they're fighting about," Henry said, quite proud of himself for being able to shed some light on this for Emma.

"Have you stopped to consider the possibility that _maybe_ she won't admit it because it isn't true?" Emma said, understanding Regina's reasoning for not wanting Henry snooping around in her business. He had a tendency to jump to conclusions about things.

"No, it's true. Trust me."

"God, Henry. Look, I've gotta go talk to Snow. Do you think you could manage not to meddle in anyone else's life while I'm gone?"

"Probably not. But I can make an attempt, I suppose."

Emma figured that was the best she was going to get; he was so like Snow sometimes. But for now, she did need to talk to her mother about spreading rumors and meddling. Picking the bill up off the table, she walked over to the counter to pay it.

"So... that was an interesting conversation-" Ruby started when Emma handed her a twenty. Stupid werewolf. Stupid incredible sense of hearing.

"Don't Rubes. Just don't. I really don't have time for this mess right now," Emma said, irritated that Ruby had overhead, even if she hadn't really meant to eavesdrop.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it," Ruby said, making a show of pretending to zip her lips and throw away the key.

"Just don't encourage him. I know you like to," Emma warned before walking out of the diner to have a talk with her mother.


	7. Chapter 7

The ride to Snow's apartment was a stressful one for Emma. Her thoughts ran rampant.

_"__What if she actually does have feelings for me?" _Emma thought, but she quickly attempted to dispel that one. There was really no reason to get her hopes up over a stupid rumor that her mother made up. She was almost positive that Snow was just seeing what she wanted to see. Snow had never liked Hook so there was a strong possibility that she was just trying to prevent that disaster from ever happening again. Not that it would, but Snow didn't necessarily know that.

_"__But why would Snow want you to be with Regina?"_ she asked herself, _"It's not like she is particularly fond of her. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding on Henry's part…"_

She almost blew threw a red light turning onto Snow's street. That would have been an excellent reason to get fired.

_"__Oh yeah, Regina, sorry I ran that red. I know that's not really the best example that a Sheriff could set but I was preoccupied thinking about the possibility that you might be in love with me. Please let me keep my job,"_ Emma mentally explained. God, even the idea of saying anything about this to Regina was terrifying. She'd probably lose more than her job.

She parked in front of her parent's apartment building and got out of the car. Mentally preparing herself for what was bound to be an exasperating conversation, she walked up the stairs to their apartment. David answered the door when she knocked.

"Hey, what're you doing here? We weren't expecting a visit. Not that you're not welcome or anything, just-" David said, but Emma quickly interrupted before he really got started.

"Where's Snow?"

"Uh, living room," David said, stepping out of the way to let her inside. Emma walked ahead of him into the apartment. Snow was sitting on the couch reading a book. She looked up when she heard Emma come in. Closing her book, she smiled at Emma. When Emma didn't smile back, she put her book on the end table and sat up a little straighter.

"Hey, sweetheart. Is everything alright?" Snow asked, motioning for Emma to sit down.

"No, everything is not _alright_. David, can I have a minute with her?" Emma asked, ignoring Snow's suggestion that she sit. She paced around in front of her mother on the couch instead.

"Sure, I was just heading out, anyway…" David said, grabbing his coat off the end of the couch. As soon as David was out the door, Emma started in on her mother.

"I cannot believe you," Emma accused.

"What did I do?"

"You told Henry that Regina was in love with me?" Emma said, raising an eyebrow at her mother.

"Oh, that," Snow said, wishing that Emma would calm down and stop pacing the room.

"Oh? That's all you have to say for yourself?" Emma chastised her mother, "You know he really believes you, don't you?"

"Well, I mean… it's not like it's not true," Snow said, shrugging. She didn't fully understand why Emma was so upset about this.

"It's not true!" Emma yelled, "What on earth makes you think that's true?"

"You really think it's not true? She's head over heels for you, sweetie," Snow said, wondering how Emma hadn't noticed by this point. Emma sighed and plopped down in one of the loveseats. Her mother was impossible.

"Look, Regina's not in love with me. Could you tell Henry that?" Emma asked, not really wanting to argue the finer points with Snow right now.

"You two could be really happy together, you know," Snow said, picking her book back up.

"Would you stop it? There's no way."

"Because you don't feel the same way? We both know that isn't true," Snow said, opening her book to continue reading.

"I don't… You don't think-"

"I don't have to think, Emma. It's not like you're doing a very good job pretending like you're not," Snow said, "Now, I don't mean to be pushy, but don't talk to me about it. Go talk to Regina if you want. But if you're just going to sit here and try to convince me of that you don't have feelings for her, you can leave."

Emma looked at her mother like she had grown a second head. This was insane. Snow was insane. Emma decided that maybe it was time for her to leave, clearly this wasn't actually going to go anywhere. She was about halfway to the front door when Snow stopped her.

"Wait! Don't- just don't do what I think you're about to go do," Snow said hesitantly.

"And what exactly do you think I'm going to do?"

"You'll break her heart, Emma. If you really don't want to admit your own feelings, don't you dare try to talk to her about this. It's just cruel," Snow warned. Emma just sighed. Snow was so damn stubborn. She gave her mother one last disbelieving look before walking down to her car.

She got into the bug and leaned her seat back, staring at the roof of the car.

_"__What if Snow is right?" _Emma considered, _"I can't actually mention this to Regina… Or I could just… Tell her? Maybe. What's the worst that could happen?"_

_"__She could slap you. And then banish you to another realm where you'll never see your family again." _Emma though, worst case scenario, _"Not that I'd really mind having a break from some of these morons for a little while."_

Emma pulled her seat back upright and leaned her head against the steering wheel. Digging through her pocket for her keys, she realized that she had left them upstairs on her parent's coffee table.

She didn't bother knocking; the front door was still unlocked. She stopped dead in her tracks in the hallway when she heard someone speaking in the kitchen. Someone who shouldn't really be in her parent's apartment. Regina. She and Snow were arguing.

"I didn't tell him, Regina," Emma heard Snow say.

"Mhm, well who did then? He's under the impression that he can _fix _this. There's nothing to _fix_, Snow," Regina replied.

"Maybe you and Emma should just talk to him then. Sit him down and tell him that neither of you are willing to admit your feelings to each other because neither of you know how to behave like adults," Snow said. Emma heard someone sit something down on the kitchen counter, a mug or something. Then she heard someone, probably Snow, open and close the refrigerator.

"Yes, as if that's a conversation I want to have with either my son or Emma. First I'd have to explain to your daughter why our son seems to think I'm in love with her."

"Um, no actually you… kinda don't. She might already know," Snow said hesitantly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Regina yelled, "What do you mean she _might_ already know? Know what, exactly?"

"Well… apparently Henry may have mentioned it to her. Don't worry too much, though, she's just as deluded as you are. Doesn't believe you actually love her," Snow tried to reassure her, even though she didn't agree with how these two were handling this situation at all, "Although, I don't understand why you would believe that that's a good thing." Emma heard what sounded like someone slamming their hand down on the table.

"Because she can't possibly feel the same way!" Regina yelled, and then there was glass breaking. Someone had thrown something. Probably Regina.

Emma didn't know what to do. She felt a little sick. She'd come back to get her keys later. Right now, she just needed to get out of here. She turned around to quickly make her escape. In her rush, she caught her foot on the edge of the hall table and ended up flat on her face in the middle of the hallway.

"Miss Swan?" Regina said, after rushing into the hallway to see what had happened.

"Emma? Are you alright?" Snow said at the same time.

"I'm fine," Emma said, pushing away Snow's hands, which were searching her for injury. She pushed herself up off the floor and stood to face her punishment for eavesdropping. She looked at Regina for about half a second, quickly looking away when she saw the look on Regina's face. Anger, worry, and fear flashed across the other woman's face. Snow saw it to.

"I'll be outside, work it out. Right now," Snow said, stepping around Emma to go out the front door.


	8. Chapter 8

Regina leaned against the wall. This wasn't happening. She didn't need to deal with this today. Or ever really.

"How much did you hear?" Regina asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She ran her hands over her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was absolutely humiliated. The feeling only increased when she felt more tears in her eyes. She hadn't been this emotional over something since her mother controlled her life.

Emma wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't think properly right now. She needed some time to get her thoughts in order. But she didn't have that. Instead, she had the bravest woman she'd ever met practically in tears in front of her. She could lie; say she didn't hear anything and that she'd just walked in. However, that probably wouldn't help anyone in the long run.

"I, um… a lot. I heard a lot," Emma said, stepping towards Regina a little. With every step Emma took forward, Regina took another one backwards into the kitchen, "Please stop. Don't shut me out again. And please, dear god, don't do the magic disappearance thing again."

"What do you want me to say, Emma?" Regina said.

"Whatever you want to say. Preferably something relevant to this conversation, though," Emma said, trying to lighten the tension a bit. She stopped trying to get close to Regina, choosing instead to walk into the main part of the living room and sit on the couch. Regina did turn around so that she was facing Emma, but didn't move out of the entryway. She didn't seem to be in any hurry to say anything, so Emma decided it was her turn to speak again.

"So, Snow says we should work it out…" Emma said, "Uh, so… Do you really…"

"I… think your mother is mistaken."

"My mother's not the one who said that I couldn't possibly 'feel the same', Regina," Emma reasoned, "But I don't really get how you think that. You're pretty fantastic, Gina. Like, how could someone not…"

"Not what?" Regina asked, moving to sit in the loveseat.

"You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?" Emma said, laughing nervously.

"Well, I've already humiliated myself tonight, dear. Your turn."

"Glad to see your mood has improved enough to be a bitch," Emma muttered. She sighed, "Well, I guess this where I'm supposed to ask you out or something."

"What if I said no?" Regina asked, crossing and uncrossing her legs. She was trying to gain some of her normal demeanor back, but was too nervous to actually make it work very well.

"Oh, like you'd say no to me," Emma smirked, "Apparently, you _looove _me."

"Do shut up, Miss Swan, I'm not above the idea of lighting your hair on fire."

"Okay, let's not let that happen. Look, do you maybe want to… do dinner or something? Like maybe without Henry?" Emma asked, picking at her fingernails.

"I suppose we could do that."

"Wow. You sound so enthusiastic about it, please try to contain yourself," Emma said sarcastically.

Regina picked up the couch pillow and threw it at the blonde. Laughing, Emma got up and moved to sit on the edge of the loveseat that Regina was in.

"Regina, I know you probably didn't really want it to happen this way or whatever, but I'm glad you… told me? I guess you really didn't tell me… but like-"

"Thank you, Emma."

"I do feel the same way, you know," Emma said, reaching for Regina's hand. She interlaced their fingers and ran her thumb over the other woman's hand. Both Regina and Emma stared at their interlocked hands.

"I'm not… particularly good at this. I hope you know that," Regina said.

"That's okay, I'm not either," Emma said, "We'll make it work, if you want it to work, I mean."

"I do." Regina said.

"I should get going, though… umm when do you want to do dinner?"

"Tonight? You can come by at 7? I'll make dinner."

"Yeah, sounds great. I gotta go find Henry," Emma said, getting up and unlacing her fingers from Regina's.

"Find Henry?" Regina asked tensely," Did you lose our son, Emma?"

"No, no. Wrong way to word that," Emma quickly backtracked, "I just- He's a the diner, probably."

"Probably?" Regina repeated, getting up.

"Definitely," Emma corrected. Regina sighed, Emma was so irresponsible sometimes, "Besides, what's the worst that could happen, it's Storybrook."

"Do I even have to answer that question?" Regina asked, "Just go, I'm sure he's fine."

Emma smiled at Regina before pulling her in for a hug. Surprisingly, Regina didn't even hesitate to hug her back.

"It's gonna be alright, we're gonna be fine," Emma whispered in her ear. When she pulled away, Regina lightly grabbed Emma's chin and kissed her cheek.

"I know," Regina said. Emma felt her face go red. Regina laughed lightly, "We should go, your mother is probably waiting outside the door to congratulate us."

"Oh god. I do not want to speak to her right now," Emma groaned.

"Am I allowed to do the 'magic disappearance thing' now?" Regina asked.

"No, don't you dare leave me here to deal with her," Emma warned. Regina laughed and took a step back away from Emma.

"Too late, dear," Regina said, disappearing yet again in her puff of characteristic purple smoke.

"Ugh, That woman," Emma said, collapsing back down into the loveseat. Looks like she'd have to face Snow by herself. Or maybe she could sneak out the window, scale down the side of the building. She couldn't remember whether or not this building had a fire escape.

She didn't want to attempt to leave, yet, knowing that Snow would jump her the minute she realized that Regina was gone. She couldn't quite comprehend what had happened, really. She didn't think she could handle explaining it to Snow. Besides, she'd rather wait to see if it even seemed like it was going to work out between her and Regina before she told anyone. Especially Snow. Snow would tell everyone.

She hoped it would work out, but she wasn't naïve. Neither she nor Regina were particularly easy to get along with. And there was so much to lose. Henry would be devastated if it didn't work out. Actually, she wasn't sure how he would feel if it _did _work out. Would he think it was weird? He'd seemed enthusiastic about the idea this morning, but that was just hypothetically. How would he react when he found out that it was a realistic possibility that she might be dating his mother?

She was excited that Regina seemed to be interested in her, as well. But now she had to deal with the actuality of that. And that was a bit terrifying. She decided to focus on the positives of the situation. She was going on a date with Regina. A real, actual date.

_"__Dear god,"_ she thought, _"What am I supposed to wear?"_


	9. Chapter 9

_"__This shouldn't be difficult, Swan. It's just Regina," _Emma thought to herself as she looked through her closet. She was having a mild crisis about her outfit.

"You look fine, Ma," Henry said for the tenth time that evening. Emma turned around to glare at him. He wasn't being particularly helpful. She hadn't told him who she was going out with tonight, but she assumed that he had guessed. He'd never been this enthusiastic about her dates with Hook.

Emma had finally settled on something to wear, only to reconsider when she looked in the mirror. Maybe she should wear a dress instead of skinny jeans.

"You're going to be late if you don't just go," Henry reminded her. She looked at the clock. It was almost seven already, but she was fairly certain that Regina expected her to be at least a few minutes late. Sighing, she looked in the mirror again.

_"__I guess this will be alright," _Emma thought. They were black skinny jeans, so it was a slight step up from her usual daily outfits. And she'd even put in the effort to iron her button-down. She ran her hands over her hips, smoothing it out.

"Fine. Come on, I'm dropping you off at Snow and David's. Don't cause them too much trouble, okay?" She said, pushing Henry off her bed and out of her room.

"Maybe I should be the one warning you not to get into trouble, since you're the one going on a secret date," Henry said, walking out the front door.

"It's not a secret date," Emma corrected.

"So I'm not allowed to know who it's with and I'm supposed to tell Snow and David that you're working, but it's not a secret? Uh huh, yeah," Henry replied sarcastically.

"You know what, maybe I should just leave you locked outside for the night," Emma said, playfully shoving him towards the bug.

After dropping Henry off at her parent's apartment, it was already almost fifteen after seven. Regina was literally going to murder her before they even had their first date. To be fair, though, Emma had waited a bit late to start getting ready. Nerves had prevented her from moving from her spot in front of the television for a solid two hours, watching reruns of Project Runway. She didn't even particularly like Project Runway.

She parked her bug in front of the mayor's suddenly imposing manor and walked as quickly as she could to the front door without injuring herself in the process. Regina opened the door before she could even knock.

"Late."

"I'm sorry, I had to drop Henry off at Snow and David's and I just lost track of what time it was-"

"Just come in," Regina said, turning to walk back into the house. She led them into the dining room, where the table was already set and the food was already out.

"You look really great, Gina," Emma said. And she meant it, too. Regina always looked great, but there had clearly been a different intention with her outfit tonight. She was wearing a tighter than usual black dress that stopped at her knees. Regina turned back around to face Emma and smiled nervously.

"Thank you. You look quite nice yourself, Emma."

"So… You made dinner, then?"

"I said that I would, didn't I?"

"That is true," Emma said, pulling the chair out from the table to sit down. Regina sat down beside her, at the head of the table. They ate in companionable silence for the most part, with the occasional remark from Emma about the food.

"This is kind of awkward, isn't it? Like it's not just me?" Emma asked, scraping her fork across the plate. Regina, wincing at the noise, grabbed Emma's hand to make her stop.

"A bit, yes. It's to be expected, I suppose," she responded. Emma dropped the fork and took Regina's hand instead, moving to sit both their hands on the table. She tapped her thumb against the side of Regina's hand.

"It shouldn't be, really… How is this really any different from any of the other times we've been alone together?"

Regina sighed, not particularly wanting to get into a debate with Emma about the differences between a date and a normal dinner with a friend.

"Would you like something to drink, Miss Swan?"

"Sure. But seriously, you've gotta stop calling me that."

"Sorry, force of habit."

Regina got up and pulled Emma with her, still holding her hand. They walked into the sitting room, where Regina poured them both a glass of wine. She handed one to Emma and sat down on the couch. Emma sat beside her, feeling a bit more comfortable with the change in venue. They'd had drinks together before, this was a little less foreign to her. It seemed like she suddenly remembered how to act around Regina. She leaned back on the couch and pulled her legs up onto it, sitting cross-legged facing Regina.

"So when was the last time you even went on a date? You seem a bit nervous," Regina commented, also pulling her legs up onto the couch.

"Hey, I've been on plenty of dates. No, don't you dare say something bitchy about that," Emma warned, having seen the smirk on Regina's face and refusing to let her interrupt her train of thought with some lewd comment about her dating life, "I went out with Hook a couple times, you knew that."

"I didn't think he actually took you on dates, dear. I'd just assumed-"

"I don't want to know what you assumed, I didn't sleep with Hook," Emma said, "He was kind of an ass. Plus he smelled like fish."

"He probably doesn't know how to bathe," Regina laughed, "Imagine how disgusting it is under that hook of his."

"Oh god, that's terrible, Regina," Emma said, trying unsuccessfully not to laugh, "He's still kind of my friend, I suppose."

"You deserved better," Regina said, looking not at Emma but at the glass in her hands.

"I think I've managed pretty well," Emma said, smiling. She sat her glass on the end table behind her and leaned in closer to Regina. When Regina looked up, Emma closed the distance between them and caught the other woman's bottom lip between her own. Regina reached up and wrapped her arms around Emma's neck, pulling her closer. Neither of them made any attempt to deepen their kiss, just appreciating what they'd both been looking forward to. Emma pulled back first, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, I definitely managed pretty well," she laughed.

"I suppose you'll do, Miss Swan," Regina replied jokingly.

"I'll do?" Emma teased, "I thought you loved me."

"Don't push your luck," Regina smirked.

Emma felt absolutely high on life when she got back to her apartment later that night. It had gone better than she could have hoped. Sure, there was some awkwardness, but it really was just Regina. And there's nothing more she could have ever hoped for.


End file.
